Southern utilities get $26.5B federal boost

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UTILITIES

• The DOE announces a $26.5 billion loan, its largest ever, to help Southern Co.’s Georgia and Alabama subsidiaries build new gas plants and transmission lines and upgrade existing power plants. (Assoc iated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

• Duke Energy’s January disconnection notices have been growing year over year and jumped 10% this year after winter storms pushed the grid to its limit. (WFAE)

• A North Carolina court rules state regulators erred in approving a Duke Energy rate hike for fuel costs, but because of a change in state law last year, customers won’t receive any refunds. (Carolina Journal)

PIPELINES

• FERC authorizes Williams Cos. to start building a major gas pipeline in Virginia and North Carolina, despite concerns over the project’s redundancy with the Mountain Valley Pipeline. (E&E News)

SOLAR

• Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Virginia are among the 28 states moving to allow broader adoption of solar panels that plug into a standard 120-volt wall outlet. (Canary Media)

• A Virginia school system receives a $450,000 grant to build a microgrid that will include 1 MW arrays on two high schools and a 4 MWh battery system. (Cardinal News)

• Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones joins 23 other states in a lawsuit against the U.S. EPA over its clawback of $7 billion it had distributed for its Solar for All program. (Virginia Mercury)

STORAGE

• Iron-air energy storage company Form Energy builds its first commercial installations in Minnesota, with batteries built at a West Virginia factory. (Canary Media)

EMISSIONS

• Virginia moves forward in its push to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative less than three years after a former Republican governor withdrew the state. (VPM)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Alabama residents and advocates speak out against a proposal to renew an operating permit for a plant that heats coal to create coke. (Birmingham Watch)

• Charlotte, North Carolina-area customers of Piedmont Natural Gas complain about a 20% increase in bills the company blames on cold weather and the increased price of gas. (Charlotte Observer)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The United Auto Workers will withdraw a federal labor complaint against Volkswagen now that it’s finalized a workers’ contract with the automaker at its Tennessee plant. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

DATA CENTERS

• A Virginia court hears arguments over what would be the largest data center complex in the U.S. — with 14 electric substations and hundreds of diesel generators — at a location that sits up against a famous Civil War battleground. (E&E News)

• Some Democratic Virginia lawmakers and workers’ groups split on a proposal to repeal the sales tax exemption for data centers. (Virginia Mercury)

• West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announces a $4 billion data center on 548 acres, with a still-undisclosed tenant. (WV Metro News, West Virginia Watch)

• West Virginia lawmakers have squashed residents’ efforts to restore some local oversight and open up transparency about data center development in the state. (Mountain State Spotlight)

• Virginia officials announced a planned data center that will be supported by on-site gas generation. (Cardinal News)

COMMENTARY

• Virginia lawmakers are still working out the details but should move forward on a plan to end the sales tax exemption for data centers, which has grown from $1.54 million when it was passed in 2008 to $1.6 billion in 2025, writes a columnist. (Virginia Mercury)

• Carbon capture represents an attempt by fossil fuel companies to hide their emissions rather than cleaning them up by shifting to renewables, writes a former Army commander who has become an environmental advocate. (The Lens)